Some readers might be disappointed that this book is so brief. I, on the other hand, was sympathetic to Van Maarsen's shyness, desire for privacy and reticence to speak so as not to appear as someone taking advantage of Anne's fame. In fact, I think this makes her book even more compelling. Van Maarsen speaks strictly to things she knows and experiences. She does not try to pad the book with her own personal details and agenda. She seems to have written this book for us--the people interested in knowing more about Anne--and not for herself.

As the years pass, there is the growing risk that Anne will become so sainted as to go beyond reality. Additionally, the readers of the diary often forget that we are hearing a story entirely from the perspective of a young girl. This does not diminish Anne's achievement but I think it is important to keep in mind that Anne was a real person with faults as well as great talent. Plaster saints do not inspire as well as true human beings in whom we can find a reflection of ourselves. Van Maarsen reminds us of Anne's humanity by giving us a different point of view of Anne's experiences. It is an invaluable resource.

If you love the Diary of Anne Frank, you will want to have this book. It raises intriguing questions such as if you had been Anne's friend, would you now want to stay out of the limelight? How would you like it if people only wanted to know you because you were her friend? That it took the author ("Jopie" in the Diary) so long to write this (published in Dutch, 1990), is an indication of the painful struggles she has had with these and related issues. The spirit of candor in the Diary is present in this book also. So much so that ironically, some readers will be disappointed in the ending. We want Anne's friend to carry the torch of her legacy. That our image of how she does this may differ from the author's--hopefully will not lessen our ability to appreciate the author for sharing her unique experiences.

Update of August 28, 2001:

After seeing this review, the author wrote to me that she continues public speaking. Examples of such speeches are described in fascinating detail in the book. As her note to me eloquently stated:

"Anne's diary conveys a very strong message, a message against discrimination and prejudice. By telling about my friendship with Anne and the circumstances during the war, I can give authenticity to her story. So, after having hesitated for years, I now 'carry the torch of Anne's legacy.' I speak for my friend, who cannot speak any more, and I feel quite satisfied to do so."

Some might wonder how or why the author could "give authenticity to Anne's story" which speaks so directly to their heart. It is apparent that this comment is meant for people who have denied Anne wrote the Diary. The book explains that the author provided samples of Anne's handwriting to the Dutch Institute For War Documentation after the war. This was used to confirm the Diary was written by Anne. Too, there are incidents described in the Diary that only Anne and the author witnessed. In Anne's 1942 poem to the author, which contained a personal twist to a common verse, she wrote:

"Dear Jackie,

Always show your sunny side

And be a nice girl at school

Remain my dearest little friend

And everyone will love you.

In remembrance of your friend,


Anne Frank

The last two lines of this verse have proven prophetic. It is clear that Anne would love her dear Jackie even more for having written this book and speaking where Anne's voice trails into silence. The world is indeed fortunate that Anne continues to have such a lovely friend.

In the 10/7/97 New Yorker, Cynthia Ozick's "Who Owns Anne Frank?" notes that the Anne Frank story has been "bowdlerized, distorted, transmuted, traduced, reduced; ... infantilized, Americanized, homogenized, sentimentalized; falsified, kitchified, and ... arrogantly denied."

This book "Understanding Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl" balances some of the distortions weighing on the Anne Frank industry by presenting sources, settings, and historical documents which should go a long way toward smartening-up the discourse with true facts. It deserves a ten on the Amazon.com scale for content, readability, and responsible creativity.

Having read this tiny little gem, I can tell you that I'm not even sure why I liked it so much. Maybe it was because I loved seeing a warm friendship develop between two total strangers. Maybe it was because I loved the dry wit of Helene and the staunch Britishness of Frank. Maybe it was because I liked hearing about the WWII years, how the people of Britain sacrificed, and how one caring American woman made a difference to this small group of Britishers.

One note: this is the only book I have ever read that is truly enhanced by the video. Read the book, then rent the movie. Anne Bancroft is the perfect Helene and Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as Frank.

The correspondence runs from 1949 until 1969, during which time Helene and the people at 84 Charing Cross Road exchange Christmas gifts and news of their families, but never meet. At least in the early years of the correspondence, almost every year Ms. Hanff states her intention to come over to visit England, but something always comes up to prevent the trip.

In 1969, one of Hanff's letters to Frank Doel is answered by another member of the firm, informing her that Frank Doel has died.

This is a beautiful book, which can be read in 45 minutes. I suppose every reader will take his or her own lessons from the book, but here is mine: If there is something you really want to do in your life, then DO IT when the opportunity arises. Time is finite. If you keep saying, "Maybe next year," there will eventually come a time when there IS no next year. It is a painful tragedy that Helene Hanff never got to England to meet Frank Doer and the other people at Marks & Company, and that poignant sadness is what stayed with me after I had closed the book.

It also serves as an independent witness to many of the events Anne described in her Diary. This was dramatized in a made for television movie about 10 years ago.

Miep and her husband Henk opened their home and hearts to Otto Frank for seven years after the war. They helped preserve his post-concentration camp sanity and gave him strength to live.

Had Miep read the Diary after Anne's capture, she states that she'd have had to burn it since it implicated people as hiders of Jews. Thankfully, Miep did not read it until years later. Even with Otto Frank's post-war encouragement, it was simply too painful for her to read. The miracle of the Diary's survival and gift to the world is due to Miep's remarkable courage and mysterious fate.

The book tells the entire story of Miep Gies, from her first employment by Anne's father until the final liberation of Holland. The story is told honestly and without a feeling of ego or of her deliberately sounding like the brave woman she was. And it's told in such a way, that you feel a kind of suspense as if you didn't know of the tragedy coming.

Miep is unrelenting in her portrayal of the grimness of life during the German occupation of Holland. It was worse of all for the Jewish people, but it was also hard on the Dutch people. Reading this is an education for those of us who have no idea of how it is to live in an occupied country.

However, you feel the hope in the ending. Also, one realizes how truly important a book that Anne Frank's diary was. This is a very moving and a most important book on its own.

However, the book's jacket incorrectly claims "Here, after five decades is the first biography of this remarkable figure." Having been moved many years ago by Ernst Schnabel's book ANNE FRANK: A PORTRAIT IN COURAGE (1958) I was put off by this inaccurate statement. That Schnabel's biography is not even acknowledged by author Melissa Muller is also troubling. How could a journalist who has done such detailed historical research fail to even mention a previous author's detailed biography? Hopefully, this will be corrected in future editions.

Like Schnabel, Muller interviewed many people who knew Anne frank. Schnabel was able to speak with people not available to Muller because they had died before she started her research--such as Anne's father Otto Frank. To Muller's credit, her interviews include Frank family relatives, one of the Franks' protectors in hiding--Miep Gies--co-author of ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED as well as Jacqueling Van Maarsen ("Jopie" in the Diary)--author of MY FRIEND ANNE FRANK and Willy Lindmer--author of THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS OF ANNE FRANK.

Another nice touch is the Epilogue which sums up what happened to many of the people described in the book. For example, it is deeply sad and chilling to read about one of Anne's sweet friends, Sanne Ledermann, then turn to the Epilogue and find that she and her parents were gassed in Auschwitz.

Muller's writing varies from fascinating to overly detailed. For example, do we really need to know that one of Edith Frank's cousins divorced her husband because he was having an affair with his secretary? On the other hand, she offers new insights into who may have been the betrayer(s) of the Franks and others in hiding with them. She also sensitively describes "new" pages of the Diary that Otto Frank had deleted from the original version because he found Anne's perceptions of his marriage too embarrassing. Like other books about Anne frank, she quotes extensively from the Diary, citing many of its most moving passages. So despite the criticisms, I still believe this book is very much worth reading.

While Muller's choice of style and content may be too academic for the average reader, there are also flashes of inspiration and insight regarding Anne's deepest feelings. Schnabel's book is more consistently inspired, often expressing the heart of a spiritual poet. An example is found in his final words:

"Thus her voice was preserved out of the millions that were silenced, this voice no louder than a child's whisper. It tells how those millions lived, spoke, ate, and slept and it has outlasted the shouts of the murderers and soared above the voices of time."

Muller concludes:

"In the end, the Nazi terror oculd not silence Anne's voice, which still rings out for all of us, whom she had hoped so ardently to serve."